In Sheng Jiaoyang"s eyes, Sheng Xun hadn"t treated her as a daughter since long ago. Ever since her mother pa.s.sed away, her father had been avoiding her and turning a blind eye to her. He"d even brought that scheming woman, Liang Xiaohui, home. As a result, Liang Xiaohui made her throw away everything in a headlong flight, and she had no choice but to go live abroad with her grandfather.

But now, her father was telling her that he"d been secretly watching over her and had even asked about her every once in a while to see what she was doing.

“Although you paid attention to me, you have never asked me about how I was doing. So, what"s the use of everything you"ve done?”

Sheng Xun smiled. “You"re finally admitting it.”

Sheng Jiaoyang suddenly realised that she"d been tricked. She pursed her lips and sneered, “It turns out you only said that to trick me.”

“No, what I said is the truth.”

“Do you still remember the time we met in the graveyard? At the time, you didn"t even know where I was or what had happened to me. Do you think that I"ll believe you?”

Sheng Jiaoyang laughed grimly and stood up. “I don"t want to talk about this nonsense anymore. We"re no longer related now.”

Afterwards, she walked away.

“Jiaoyang!” Sheng Xun called out.

Sheng Jiaoyang placed her hand on the doork.n.o.b and paused. Turning her head, she said, “Jiaoyang is no longer in this world.”

She then opened the door and walked out without looking back.

Sheng Jiaoyang didn"t go back downstairs. Instead, she went to her bedroom and searched for her mother"s diary to re-read it from the beginning.

September 1st, Fine Weather

I"m finally attending my mother"s alma mater! I"m about to start my new journey.

October 20th, Overcast Weather

When I was reading this morning, I met the boy who often walks past me. He"s tall and slender with a fair complexion, and he exudes a "warm and gentle" aura. Whenever I look at him, he gives me a relaxed feeling. However, every time I see him, he just pa.s.ses me without stopping. Should I take the initiative to make friends with him?

October 21st, Fine Weather

At the same old spot, I saw him slowly approaching from the other end of the stone path. At that time, I was feeling a little nervous because I was planning to use a little trick. When he was about to pa.s.s me, I pretended not to see him. I stood up while holding onto a book, and then intentionally b.u.mped into him.

He picked up the book I dropped on the ground and smiled at me with a gentle, sunny smile. “I"m sorry for knocking your book on the ground. I noticed that you"re always reading here whenever the weather is nice. You normally don"t leave this early, so I didn"t see you and accidentally b.u.mped into you. Your eyes didn"t even leave the book when you got up. It looks like you really like Chinese literature.”

I secretly felt happy. He"d said that he always notices me reading here, and he also knew that I didn"t leave early, which means that he was paying attention to me. But, I can"t be too proactive. I heard that people in China are more reserved, so I acted reserved and replied, “Yes, I really like it. I grew up in the West, but I"ve always been interested in our literature. So, I chose to continue my studies in China. I just finished reading this book, so I decided to leave early. I should be the one apologising as I didn"t notice you when I was walking.”

“This means that we"re fated. h.e.l.lo, I"m Sheng Xun, a third-year student at the business school. Sheng meaning "flouris.h.i.+ng", and Xun meaning "merit".”

Sheng Xun…I repeated his name in my heart and thought that it was a nice-sounding name. I followed along and introduced myself, “h.e.l.lo, I"m Yang Xiansu, a freshman in the Chinese literature department, and my friends call me Susan.”

“Can I call you Susu?” Sheng Xun suddenly asked.

Upon hearing this, I felt my heart skip a beat. This is the first time I"ve felt like this, and all because he called my name so intimately.

January 25th, Rainy Weather

It was the end of the semester, but I was reluctant to leave school. I was a little disappointed at the thought that I"d have to wait a month before I could see him again.

I got in the car and it slowly drove out of the school. However, Uncle Liu suddenly braked and said that someone was chasing after the car.

When I saw him standing outside in the rain through the window, I was stunned. I hurriedly opened the door to let him in, but he handed over a book that was hidden in his arms and gently said, “I"ve finished reading this book and my notes are inside. Take it back with you and read it.”

“Thank you. Where are you going? I"ll give you a ride.” I wanted him to hurry inside because it was raining hard.

“Thank you, but there"s no need. I have to go back to the dormitory because I have an exam in the afternoon.” He paused and stared at me with his bright eyes. After a moment, he added, “When next semester starts, please return the book and tell me what you think of it.”

“Okay.” Hearing my answer, he waved and ran back.

I casually opened the book he"d lent to me, and a note flew out. I picked it up and read the sentence written on it: Susu, I like you. Will you be my girlfriend?

Uncle Liu asked me what I saw because I was all smiles. I touched the corners of my lips and asked, “Really? I"m smiling?”

“Uncle Liu, I just remembered that I still have something to take care of, please take me back to my dormitory. You can pick me up tomorrow morning.”

With an umbrella in hand, I stood outside the building where his examination cla.s.sroom was located. My trousers were wet from the rain, but I didn"t go under the roof because I wanted him to see me as soon as he walked out of the building.

As expected, he instantly saw me as he walked out of the corridor. I couldn"t see his expression clearly through the rain, but I knew that he was happy because he ran over without even opening his umbrella.

“Susu, you…” He pursed his lips and looked slightly nervous.

“Can I tell you my impression of the book now?” I asked him with a smile.

He stared at me with a burning gaze, his eyes br.i.m.m.i.n.g with joy as he nodded. Although he could already make out the answer from my expression, he seemingly wanted to hear it before he could set his mind at ease.

I softly muttered one word, “Yes.”

Hearing this, he hugged me with an excited look on his face.

As such, I have a boyfriend starting today. His name is Sheng Xun and I like him.

Sheng Jiaoyang"s fingertips stopped next to the sentence "his name is Sheng Xun and I like him" and didn"t continue to the next page.

It had been more than ten years since her mother"s departure. Meanwhile, her father had visibly aged a lot more than his peers.

“Why are you crying?” a voice asked behind her.

Sheng Jiaoyang turned around and asked, “You didn"t leave?” There was a look of surprise on her tear-stained face.

“Was I supposed to leave?”

“Didn"t you return to Aureate Manor?”

“Your wish would"ve been accomplished if I"d left, huh?”

“What do you mean?” Sheng Jiaoyang turned around and placed the diary back in the safe before locking it.

She wiped her tears but didn"t turn around because she didn"t know how she should face Shen Zhining. She merely said, “I thought that you"d already left because I said those words last night.”

“What did you say? I only remember you saying that you like me.”

Sheng Jiaoyang turned to look at him. “I said that I might never fall in love with you. You heard me loud and clear this time, right?”

Shen Zhining looked at her. His expression was calm as he asked, “Have you given it a try?”

“What?” Sheng Jiaoyang didn"t understand what he meant by "given it a try".

“Have you ever tried loving me? How can you make this conclusion without giving it a chance?”

“You…” His att.i.tude was clearly indifferent after hearing her out last night. Only a few hours had pa.s.sed, so how could he possibly move on this quickly?

Seeing the surprised look on her face, a glint flashed within Shen Zhining"s eyes. Was he really unaffected by her words? That was impossible, but he wasn"t that shocked either. In any case, he already knew his place in her heart. If there was no hope, there"d be no disappointment.

“Let"s go downstairs.”

With Sheng Jiaoyang trailing behind him, Shen Zhining suddenly paused. He turned to look at her and asked, “You didn"t see the present I left for you on the nightstand?”

Sheng Jiaoyang glanced at the gift box and asked, “What"s in there?”

Shen Zhining walked over and picked up the gift box. He then stopped in front of her and asked her to open it.

Sheng Jiaoyang looked at him and proceeded to open the gift box. When she saw what was inside, she was surprised. She"d initially thought that it was a necklace or a bracelet, but it turned out to be a car key.

“Why did you give me this?” She looked up at him.

“You said before that you wanted to drive around by yourself and go sightseeing.”

Seeing that he"d unexpectedly taken her casual words to heart, Sheng Jiaoyang was slightly moved.

Shen Zhining went on to say, “Take the car key with you. After lunch, I"ll teach you how to drive.”

“I can"t accept this.” She struggled inwardly for a while, but she didn"t want to take advantage of Shen Zhining.

“I have another present too.”

“There"s more?”

Sheng Jiaoyang looked at him curiously.

“Me.”

“What?”

The corners of Shen Zhining"s lips curved upwards. He leaned forward slightly and gently whispered, “I"m gifting myself to you. Do you want me or the car?”

Sheng Jiaoyang was rendered speechless.

She reached out and took the car key before turning around and walking away. “I"d better take the car.”

Shen Zhining chuckled and followed her out of the bedroom.

When they arrived downstairs, everyone was already seated in the dining hall.

Today could be considered as one of the busiest days at Sheng Jiaoyang"s place, with two families sitting around the table.

Meanwhile, Sheng Xun arrived home both physically and mentally exhausted. As soon as he entered the living room, he heard the sound of laughter and his heart sank. His eyes were cold, but his expression remained calm as he walked over.

Liang Xiaohui and Sheng s.h.i.+yun were seated in the dining hall and chatting with his parents.

“What are you two doing here?” Sheng Xun asked with an expressionless face.

Liang Xiaohui"s smile froze, and her expression looked somewhat pitiful.

“Dad, we were called back by Grandmother and Grandfather.” Sheng s.h.i.+yun cast a glance at her grandparents, silently crying out for help.

Old Madam Sheng remarked, “Sheng Xun, it"s the Lunar New Year, so I invited them over. It"s quite pitiful for them to spend the new year alone. No matter what happened before, Xiaohui is still the mother of your daughter.”

There was finally a change in Sheng Xun"s expression. He s.h.i.+fted his gaze towards the mother-and-daughter pair and coldly sneered, “I have only one daughter, and that"s Sheng Jiaoyang.”

Upon hearing this, everyone"s expressions instantly changed.